Railway car door and side frame construction



April 18, 1939. G. MADLAND ET AL RAILWAY CAR DOOR AND SIDE FRAME CONSTRUCTION Filed May 26, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 -f/\/\/E/\/T0/5- GAB/2151. THO/EVALD MA OLA/VD MAZDA/1ND ATTX A ril 18, 1939. G. MADLAND ET AL 2,154,951

RAILWAY CAR DOOR AND SIDE FRAME CONSTRUCTION Filed May 26, 1936 v 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 -f/\;/\/E/\/Tozs- GABRIEL, MADLAND THOEVALO MADLAND ATTX April 18, 1939.

G. MADLAND El AL RAILWAY CAR DOOR AND SIDE FRAME CONSTRUCTION 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 26, 1936 -//\/\/E/\/To/e5- GABRIEL. MADLAND THOEVALD MADLAND April 18, 1939. G. MADLAND ET AL RAILWAY CAR DOOR AND SIDE FRAME CONSTRUCTION Filed May 26, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 DD .MNN RAA E N 5 WE Patented Apr. 18, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Gabriel Madland and Thorvald Madland, Chicago, Ill., assignors to The Youngstown Steel Dcor Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application May 26,

Claims.

This invention relates to railway car door and side frame constructions.

The sliding car doors used at present to close door openings provided in sides of railway freight cars are mainly bottom supported. The door openings controlled by such doors are defined by a member or side plate customarily a Z-bar arranged with its web horizontal and flanges vertical extending across the top of the opening, front and rear door posts establishing the width of the door opening and a bottom member or side sill extending across the bottom of the opening. The door posts are secured to the side plate and side sill.

The door is supported by antifriction means for sliding movement upon a track secured to the side sill. The lower portion of the door is guided in its sliding movement and retained against loss from the car by means associated with the track. A similar result is obtained at the upper portion of the door by means of a separate Z-shaped retaining bar disposed with its web horizontal and its upwardly extending vertical flange riveted to the downwardly extending vertical flange of the side plate so as to provide a guide pocket for the reception of the upper margin of the door.

The door posts and intermediate posts are disposed so that the webs of the side plates extend across the tops of said posts. The association of the decribed parts is such that only a single rivet can be utilized to secure each of the posts directly to the side plates, the securement being made to the depending vertical flange of the side plate. Additional securement to develop the full strength of the side plate has been utilized by the employment of separate connectors between the posts and side plates. These connectors interfere with the placement of inner linings of the cars, necessitating a coping operation of the lining adjacent the side plates.

Header members are used in the present freight car construction and are secured to the downwardly extending flange of the side plate by rivets disposed below the web of the retaining bar. The header members extend across the door opening and prevent inward movement of the doors and provide a weatherproof condition.

The door openings for railway freight cars used for the shipment of automobiles and other bulky lading are very wide, requiring two sliding doors to cover such opening. The side plate across said opening is commonly reinforced by a channel member which is arranged with its web riveted to the upstanding vertical flange of the 1936, Serial No, 81,898

side plate and with its flanges extending inwardly.

The construction described above and now utilized in railway freight cars presents certain inherent disadvantages which it is the purpose of labor is thus required in addtion to the provision of the bar itself. The securement of the door and intermediate posts to the side plate can at the present be made by only one rivet for each post. The header members which are riveted to the side plate require the use of rivets whose outer heads must be flattened or countersunk to avoid interference with the upper margin of the door and, hence, with the uninterrupted movement of the door. And, in connection with cars havingwide door openings, the extension of the flanges of the reinforcing members for the side plate into the interior of the car decreases the capacity thereof.

It is the main object of the instant invention to provide a construction which shall, in an economical and facile manner, overcome all of the disadvantages above noted and by virtue of which the strength of the car will be enhanced.

This object, as Well as others which will become clear as the description of the invention proceeds, is accomplished by means of a side plate which will function as a retaining bar for the upper portion of a door and thus obviate an additional retaining bar and the fabrication, assembly and labor attending its securement to the side plate; by the arrangement of the door and intermediate posts adjacent to the upstanding vertical flange of the side plate; by the direct securement of each of said posts to the side plate by more than one rivet; by the disposition of said posts whereby encroachment of the side plate reinforcement upon the interior of the car is avoided; and by the provision of a construction which shall enable securement of headers by full headed rivets.

These accomplishments, which may be taken to express objects of the instant invention, are effected, moreover, by a construction utilizing a side plate whose section modulus along the horizontal or XX axis is greater than that of the presently used side plate.

Together with the foregoing, the instant invention comprises the novel structure and combination of parts hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out and defined in the appended claims.

In the drawings forming part of this specification:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary elevation of a railway box car side embodying the instant invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a vertical section taken on line 33 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a horizontal section taken on line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a horizontal section taken on line 55 of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary elevation of a railway automobile car side embodying the instant invention.

Figure 7 is a vertical section taken on line 'I 1 of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a vertical section taken on line 88 of Figure 6.

Figure 9 is a horizontal section taken on line 9-9 of Figure 7.

Figure 10 is a horizontal section taken on line Ill-40 of Figure 8.

Referring first to Figures 1 to 5 inclusive of the drawings, the instant invention is there illustrated as utilized in a railway box car. A portion of a side wall of said car is designated generally by the reference numeral l0 and embodies essentially a side plate ll, spaced door posts I2, one of which is best illustrated in Figures 2 and 4 of the drawings, spaced intermediate posts I3, one of which is shown in Figures 3 and 5 of the drawings, a side sill l4 and metallic sheathing comprising a plurality of metallic sheets l5 extending between adjacent posts and secured thereto as by means of rivets. A roof for the. car is illustrated partially at IS.

The spaced door posts l2 cooperate with the side plate H to define an opening in the car side wall It, the lower boundary of which is determined by the side sill [4. The opening in the car side is adapted to be controlled by a door I? illustrated as formed of metal. The door briefly comprises a metallic panel l8 provided with spaced horizontal corrugations l9 merging at their ends into vertical corrugations 20 and 2| disposed adjacent the vertical edges of the door. The door is provided with lift mechanism indicated generally at 22 by means of which said door may be moved upon antifriction means upon a track 23 disposed below the lower edge of the door. Opening and closing mechanism indicated in its entirety by the reference numeral 24 is utilized to effect initial opening and final closing movement of the door. In its closed position it is adapted to be locked and sealed by means of a hasp type lock designated as a whole by the reference numeral 25.

Present day standard construction of railway freight cars utilizes a side plate Z-shaped in section and disposed with its web horizontal and its oppositely extending flanges vertical. This standard construction utilizes a retaining bar secured to the downwardly extending flange of the side plate, this bar being Z-shaped in section and disposed as hereinabove indicated for the side plate so as to cooperate with the downwardly extending vertical flange of the side plate to provide a pocket within which the upper portion of a sliding door is received. It is evident that with this standard construction a member in addition to the side plate must be utilized, thereby entailing not only the additional cost of said member but the expense incident to its attachment to the side plate. Moreover, there is thus introduced a long, horizontal joint since the retaining bar must be effective during every position of the door and this joint must be weatherproofed. In this standard construction the securement of the door and intermediate posts is effected by means of a single rivet securing each post to the outer downwardly extending leg of the side plate. In addition to the undersired eccentricity introduced, it is apparent that the full strength of the side plate cannot be developed. The standard construction utilizes additionally a header member in the form of a J- shaped section, the upstanding vertical flange of which is riveted to the outer vertical flange of the side plate. This riveting occurs below the web of the retaining bar, thereby necessitating either flattening or countersinking of the outer head of each of the securing rivets inasmuch as this head projects into the pocket within which the upper margin of the door is received. Countersinking or flattening of these heads of the rivets must be had in order to insure uninterupted movement of the upper portion of the door.

The points of the standard construction noted above constitute objections thereto. These objections are removed by the instant invention. The side plate II is disposed and associated with the door posts and intermediate posts'in such manner as to completely eliminate the separate retaining bar and to provide an increase in strength of the side plate construction without increasing the weight thereof. With reference to Figure 2 of the drawings the side plate II is illustrated, the web 26 of which is arranged horizontally, its flange 21 disposed inwardly and upwardly from the web and its flange 28 arranged outwardly and extending downwardly. To the inner upwardly extending vertical flange of the side plate each of the door posts I2 is secured. This securement is obtained by means of two vertically spaced rivets 29, whereby a direct securement to said flange is had. As best shown in Figure 4 of the drawings, the door post 12 is disposed with its web 30 parallel to the car side. One flange 3| extends inwardly from the web while the other flange 32 extends outwardly from the opposite end of the web 3|]. The securing rivets 29 thus pass through the web 30 of the door post and the upper of the rivets 29 extends additionally through a filler plate 33 which serves to fill the gap created between the web of the door post and the flange 21 of the side plate by the inter-position of a metallic sheet H) of the sheathing.

A header member 34 preferably J-shaped in section is secured to the inner vertical flange 21 of the side plate. The lower portion of the header extends outwardly as indicated at 35 and lies above the outwardly directed flange 32 of the door post which is coped, as indicated at 3B, for this purpose. The header member 34 is secured to the inner vertical flange 21 of the side plate by means of full headed rivets 31 which can be utilized by reason of the instant invention. As best illustrated in Figure 2 of the drawings, it will be seen that the header member 34 Lal cooperates directly with the side plate H to provide a pocket 38 within which the upper portion of the door I! is received. The outer vertical flange 2B of the side plate thus overlaps the upper margin of the door outwardly thereof to prevent accidental loss of the door from the car side. The separate retaining bar of the standard construction is, therefore, completely eliminated.

In addition, while the weight per foot of the Z-bar utilized in the instant invention is the same as that of the Z-bar of the standard construction, the section modulus of the former along the horizontal or X-X axis is increased from 1.4 to 1.75. It will be understood, of course, that it is not intended to limit the instant invention to the specific side plate illustrated nor to side plates whose section modulus is as given above. This side plate and the stated section modulus are merely exemplary of the advantages obtained by the instant invention.

The improvements derived from the instant invention are carried into the intermediate post construction of the side wall. Referring to Figures 3 and 5 of the drawings the intermediate post I3 is riveted directly to the inner vertical flange 21 of the side plate by means of vertically spaced rivets 39 which pass through a flange 40 of the intermediate post arranged parallel to the side wall. The upper of the rivets 39 passes additionally through a flller plate 4| adapted to fill the gap created by two thicknesses of metallic sheathing where overlapping sheets l5 are fastened to the flange 40 of the intermediate post.

The post I3 is Z-shaped in section, the web 42 thereof extending inwardly and transversely to the side Wall I and the flange 43 thereof extending parallel to and in the opposite direction from the flange 40. Direct securement between the intermediate post l3 and the side plate is obtained by the rivets 39.

A wooden nailing strip 44 is disposed within the angle of each door post formed by the web 30 and the flange 3|. Inner lining for the car is shown at 45 and is disposed against the inner flange 43 of each of the intermediate posts l3. A top timber 46 may be utilized to close the space between the lining 45 and the sheathing of the car. It will be understood, of course, by those skilled in the art that the lower portions of the door and intermediate posts will be fastened to the side sill. This may be accomplished in the instance of the door post by means of brackets 41 and in the case of the intermediate posts, their securement to the side sill may be obtained by means of brackets 48 riveted to the side sill as by means of rivets 49 and to the web 42 of the intermediate post by means of spaced upstanding flanges 59 disposed upon opposite sides of the web and secured thereto as by rivets The novel structure above described in reference to a railway box car is illustrated in its application to a railway automobile car in Figures 6 to inclusive of the drawings. With particular reference to Figures 7 and 9 it will be seenv that the door post I2 is riveted directly to the inner vertical flange 21 of the side plate II by means of vertically spaced rivets 29 which pass through said flange of the side plate and the web 30 of the door post. The door post I2 is the same as that utilized in the box car construction and, hence, the flange 3| thereof extends inwardly at substantially a right angle to the car side while the flange 32 extends outwardly of said side wall at substantially a right angle thereto.

The intermediate door posts I3, as clearly indicated in Figures 8 and 10 of the drawings, are riveted directly to the inner vertical flange 21 of the side plate II by means of vertically spaced rivets 39 passing through said flange and the flange 4B of the intermediate post which is arranged parallel to the side wall. The intermediate posts l3 are of the same construction as those utilized in the box car, having, therefore, in addition to the flange 4B, an inner oppositely extending flange 43 connected by the web 42 extending at substantially a right angle to the car side wall.

As best indicated in Figure 6 of the drawings the car side wall of an automobile freight car is provided with a door opening of extraordinary width in order to permit loading and unloading of automobiles and other bulky lading. This opening is adapted to be controlled by oppositely sliding doors 52 and 53, the essential features of construction of which are substantially those described for the box car door. The door 52, which is denominated the auxiliary door, comprises a sheet metal panel 54 formed with spaced horizontal corrugations 55 merging at their ends into vertical corrugations 56 and 51 formed in said panel adjacent the edges of the door. Similarly, the door 53, designated the main door, comprises a metallic panel 58 in which spaced horizontal corrugations 59 are formed, these corrugations merging into vertical corrugations 60 and GI formed in. the door panel adjacent the edges of the door. In their closed position the two doors are adapted to be locked by means of a locking mechanism designated by the numeral 62. Initial opening and final closing movement may be imparted to the main door by means of an opening and closing mechanism indicated in its entirety by the reference numeral 63. A lift and supporting mechanism 22 is utilized upon each of the doors which is adapted to be supported either frictionally or upon antifriction means incorporated in the lift mechanism upon the track 23.

Where an exceptionally wide door opening is provided in a railway car side it is preferred to reinforce the side plate across the door opening and fora suflicient distance beyond the door posts in order to add strength to the unsupported span of the side plate across the door opening. This reinforcement is obtained by means of a channel member 64, the web 65 of which is arranged vertically and directly secured to the inner vertical flange 21 of the side plate as by means of rivets 66. The web 65 is also riveted directly to the web 30 of the door post l2 by means of the rivets 29. To this end the reinforcing member 64 is offset as indicated at 67. The reinforcing member 64 has its upper and lower flanges 68 and 59, respectively, extending inwardly and, in order to permit uninterrupted extension of the lower flange 69, the flange 3| of the door post [2 is coped as indicated at 10.

In the standard automobile car constructions where channel reinforcing members disposed as illustrated in Figure 7 of the drawings were utilized, the inwardly extending flanges of said reinforcing member extended into the loading space of the car thereby decreasing the revenue producing capacity of the car. In applicants novel construction, to the contrary, the arrangement of the several parts is such that the inwardly extending flanges of the channel reinforcement terminate within the innermost limits of the inwardly extending flange 3| of the door posts I 2 and the flange 43 of each of the intermediate posts. En-

croachment upon the loading space of the car is thus obviated.

As in the described box car construction, the depending flange 28 of the side sill II is utilized to retain the doors 52 and 53 upon the car side. This flange cooperates with a substantially J- shaped header H secured to the web 65 of the channel reinforcement 64 to provide a pocket 12 adapted to receive the upper portions of the sliding doors 52 and 53. The flange 28 is disposed in outwardly overlapping relationship with the upper portion of the door.

It will be apparent that numerous changes and modifications in the details of the invention will be clear to those skilled in the art. It is intended, therefore, that all such modifications and changes be comprehended within this invention, which is to be limited only by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

We claim:

1. In a railway car, a door opening, a bottom supported door slidably mounted outwardly of the outer plane of a side wall of said car for controlling said opening, a side plate extending substantially from end to end of said car and defining the upper boundary of said opening, said side plate comprising an inner vertical flange, an outwardly extending web and an outer depending flange, said web and outer flange being disposed outwardly of said car, a reinforcing member secured to said inner vertical flange of said side plate across said door opening, said member projecting below the web of said side plate, a header secured to said projecting portion of said member, the upper margin of said door being received between said header and outer side plate flange, the latter flange overlapping said door to prevent disengagement thereof from said car.

2. In a railway car having a side wall comprising a side plate extending substantially from end to end of said car and spaced door posts, said side plate and door posts defining a door opening in said side wall, said side plate including an inner vertical flange, an outwardly extending web and an outer vertical flange, said web and outer flange extending outwardly from said side wall, said door posts overlapping and being secured directly to said inner flange of said side plate, a door slidably mounted upon the outside of said side wall, the upper margin of saiddoor being disposed inwardly of and in overlapping relationship with said outer vertical flange of said side plate for the purpose set forth, and a reinforcing member for said side plate secured to said inner vertical flange of said side plate across said door opening and for a predetermined distance beyond each door post.

3. In a railway car having a side wall comprising a side plate extending substantially from end to end of said car and spaced door posts, said side plate and door posts defining a door opening in said side wall, said side plate including an inner vertical flange, an outwardly extending web and an outer vertical flange, said web and outer flange extending outwardly from said side wall, means directly securing said door posts to said inner flange of said side plate, a door slidably mounted upon the outside of said side wall, the upper margin of said door being disposed inwardly of and in overlapping relationship with said outer vertical flange of said side plate for the purpose set forth, and a reinforcing member for said side plate secured to said inner vertical flange of said side plate across said door opening and for a predetermined distance beyond each door post, said door posts being coped to permit extension of said reinforcing member beyond said posts and means securing said member to said door posts.

4. In a railway car having a side wall comprising a side plate extending substantially from end to end of said car and spaced door posts, said side plate and door posts defining a door opening in said side wall, said side plate including an inner vertical flange, an outwardly extending web and an outer vertical flange, said web and outer flange extending outwardly from said side wall, each of said door posts comprising a web arranged parallel to said wall and a flange extending inwardly at substantially a right angle to said wall. means directly securing said door posts to said inner flange of said side plate and a reinforcing member for said side plate secured to the inner flange thereof across said door opening and for a predetermined distance beyond each doorpost, said door post flanges being coped to permit extension of said reinforcing member and means securing said member with the web of each of said posts.

5. In a railway car having a side wall comprising a side plate extending substantially from end to end of said car and spaced door posts, said side plate and door posts defining a door opening in said side wall, said side plate including an inner vertical flange, an outwardly extending web and an outer vertical flange, said web and outer flange extending outwardly from said side wall, said door posts having flanges extending inwardly of said wall, means directly securing said posts to the inner flanges of said side plate and a reinforcing member for said side plate secured to the inner vertical flange thereof across said door opening and beyond said door posts, said member having a flange extending inwardly of said wall, the inward extension of said flange being not greater than that of said post flanges.

6. In a railway car having a side wall comprising a side plate extending substantially from end to end of said car, spaced intermediate posts and spaced door posts, said side plate and door posts defining a door opening in said side wall, said side plate including an inner vertical flange, an outwardly extending web and an outer vertical flange, said web and outer flange extending outwardly from said side wall, said door posts having flanges extending inwardly of said wall, means directly securing said door and intermediate posts to said inner side plate flange, said intermediate posts extending inwardly from said wall and a reinforcing member for said side plate secured to the inner flange thereof across said door opening and beyond said door posts, said member having a flange extending inwardly of said wall, the inward extension thereof being not greater than that of either of said door post flanges and said intermediate posts.

'7. In a railway car having a side wall comprising a side plate extending substantially from end to end of said car and spaced door posts, said side plate including an inner vertical flange of sufilcient height to accommodate a plurality of vertically spaced securing means, an outwardly extending web and an outer vertical flange, said web and outer flange extending outwardly from said side wall, said door posts extending upwardly in overlapping relationship with said inner vertical flange, a plurality of vertically spaced rivets directly securing together the overlapping portions of said posts and said inner flange of said side plate, a bottom supported door slidably mounted upon the outside of said side wall, the upper margin of said door being disposed inwardly of and in overlapping relationship with said outer vertical flange of said side plate for the purpose set forth.

8. In a railway car, a side wall having framing members, said framing members including a side plate extending substantially from end to end of said wall and having an inner vertical flange of sufli'cient height to accommodate a plurality of vertically spaced securing means, spaced door posts and spaced intermediate posts, said door posts and intermediate posts overlapping the inher vertical flange of said side plate, and a plurality of vertically spaced rivets directly securing together the overlapping portions of said posts and said inner vertical flange of said side plate whereby the full strength of said side plate is developed in said side wall.

9. In a railway car, a side wall provided with a door opening, said side wall embodying a girder comprising a side plate forming the upper chord of said girder and having an inner Vertical flange of suflicient height to accommodate a plurality of vertically spaced securing means, door posts, intermediate posts and a side sill forming the lower chord of said girder, said door and intermediate posts overlapping said inner vertical flange of said side plate, means securing said door and intermediate posts to said side sill, a plurality of vertically spaced rivets directly securing together the overlapping portions of said door and intermediate posts and said inner flange of said side plate whereby the strength of said side plate as" the upper chord of said side wall girder is fully developed.

10. In a railway car, a side wall provided with a door opening, said side Wall embodying a girder comprising a side plate forming the upper chord of said girder and having an inner vertical flange of suflicient height to accommodate a plurality of vertically spaced securing means, an outer vertical flange and a connecting web, door posts, intermediate posts and a side sill forming the lower chord of said girder, said door and intermediate posts overlapping said inner vertical flange of said side plate, means securing said door and intermediate posts to said side sill, a plurality of vertically spaced rivets directly securing together the overlapping portions of said door and intermediate posts and said inner flange of said side plate whereby the strength of said side plate as the upper chord of said side wall girder is full developed, said side plate web and outer vertical flange extending outwardly of said side wall, an outside bottom supported sliding door mounted outwardly of the outer plane of said wall, the upper margin of said door being overlapped by the outer vertical flange of said side plate for the purpose set forth.

GABRIEL MADLAND. THORVALD MADLAND. 

